Fabric for end fray resistance and protective sleeves formed therewith and methods of construction

Abstract

An elongated protective textile sleeve for protecting elongate members and methods of constructing a fabric substrate therefore. The fabric substrate has a plurality of filamentary members either woven, knitted or braided with one another. At least some of the filamentary members of the substrate extend to cut edges and are fabricated of a multi-component material that includes a core of a first polymeric material and an outer sheath of a second polymeric material. The outer sheath is heat-fusible and the inner core is heat-settable. The outer sheaths of the filamentary members are heat fused at least in the regions near the cut edges to keep the cut edges from fraying or the filamentary members from pulling out of the substrate. The core is heat set to form the desired shape of the protective sleeve.

1. A textile fabric, comprising:
 a substrate having filamentary members interlaced with one another, said filamentary members include first filamentary members oriented in a warp extending first direction and a plurality of second filamentary members oriented in a weft extending second direction generally transverse to said first direction, at least some of said first filamentary members being spaced from one another to provide a plurality of separate warp extending spaces between said spaced first filamentary members, at least some of said secondary filamentary members being monofilaments having a core of heat-settable polymeric material and an outer sheath of heat-fusible polymeric material; 
 a plurality of strips of material separate from said substrate interlaced with said second filamentary members in at least some of said spaces, said strips of material having oppositely facing inner and outer sides and extending parallel to said first direction and transverse to said second direction; and 
 wherein said outer sheath of at least some of said monofilaments abuts said outer side of each of said strips over a single circumferential extent and said outer sheath of at least some of said monofilaments abuts said inner side of each of said strips over a single circumferential extent, at least some of said outer sheaths being heat-fused to said material and said core of said at least some of said monofilaments being heat-shaped into a biased shape. 
 
     
     
       2. The textile fabric of  claim 1  wherein said first filamentary members are arranged in groups of two or more filaments adjacent one another, said groups being separated from one another by said spaces. 
     
     
       3. The textile fabric of  claim 1  wherein said biased shape is a tubular sleeve having a longitudinal axis, said first filamentary members and said material extends generally along and parallel to said axis. 
     
     
       4. The textile fabric of  claim 1  wherein at least some of said second filamentary members are provided as said monofilaments and at least some of said first filamentary members are provided as multifilaments. 
     
     
       5. The textile fabric of  claim 1  wherein said substrate is woven. 
     
     
       6. The textile fabric of  claim 1  wherein said substrate is knitted. 
     
     
       7. The textile fabric of  claim 1  wherein said material is a non-woven material. 
     
     
       8. The textile fabric of  claim 7  wherein said substrate has opposite sides, further including at least one material being heat-fused to one of said opposite sides with a refractive surface facing outwardly from said opposite sides. 
     
     
       9. The textile fabric of  claim 8  wherein said refractive surface is metal foil. 
     
     
       10. The textile fabric of  claim 8  wherein said refractive surface is coated. 
     
     
       11. The textile fabric of  claim 9  wherein said biased shaped is tubular having opposite edges and further comprising a metal foil strip adhered to said edges and forming a circumferentially continuous metal foil outer layer. 
     
     
       12. The textile fabric of  claim 11  further comprising a metal drain wire arranged in conductive electrical communication with said metal foil outer layer. 
     
     
       13. The textile fabric of  claim 9  further comprising another layer of non-woven material attached to the other of said opposite sides. 
     
     
       14. The textile fabric of  claim 13  wherein said biased shaped is tubular having inner and outer surfaces, said metal foil layer forming said outer surface and said non-woven material forming said inner surface.